Survive
by EscrimaArcher
Summary: Post 3x09. Everyone falls, it is how you get back up that matters. Oliver-centric but another character will be revealed in later chapters. Rated M for violence.
1. Bad Blood

**Title: Survive**

**Show: Arrow (CW and DC Comics)**

**Summary: Post 3x09. Everyone falls, it is how you get back up that matters. Oliver-centric but another character will be revealed in later chapters. **

**Chapter 1: Bad Blood***

A brutally cold wind rushed into the small lodge that was built into the side of the mountain. The small fire went out with a whisper and the small room became frigid. A young man, no older than 17, removed the cooking hares from the fire grate convinced they were hot enough. He needed something warm in his stomach before he headed out. There'd been movement on the mountain, one too many sets footprints in the snow. This time of year in the mountains was dangerous, so there could only be one reason for them to gather here.

Blood debt. A duel.

It would take him at least 6 hours to climb the mountain. He'd been low on food and lacking strength; his last trip out of the mountains was 4 weeks ago. The townspeople would be worried for him, though none of them would risk venturing into the depths of the Himalayas for him.

He grabbed his bag, filled with his last piece of bread and some of the hare from the fire, and some other supplies. He strapped his pack to his back, did a quick weapons check, and opened the door to the unforgiving air. It was just afternoon. If he was lucky he'd be able to at least see them leave the mountain. That's all he needed, a glimpse; a moment. He'd be able to recognize him by the way he held himself, the way he walked. It was not something he'd easily forget.

The path to the mountain was an easy one. This precipice in particular was a peculiar one. It stood like a massive tower amongst the flat terrain. The frozen landscape was surprisingly calm as he reached the mountain and a mist was beginning to settle over the mountain peaks. A couple of pebbles trickled down the side of the mountain.

Someone was climbing.

"Guess I'd better hurry. Wouldn't want to miss the show." He inhaled, the cold air bringing pain to his lungs, and began to climb.

He was about two-thirds up the mountain when he heard the clash of steel. _Great, this will be over soon,_ he thought as he heard a contained scream. There was a small ledge that stuck out a little more than a meter from the mountain. He could wait there until they descended from the top and follow from there. When he reached it he could still hear the swords echoing off the mountains. Whoever was up there wasn't half bad; he was used to hearing blood curdling screams before he even had a chance to scale the mountain. It was difficult to get the jump on them from the ground. The mountain's wall provided a good vantage point. He perched himself against the mountain wall.

Silence. _Must be over, _he thought.

He looked up only to throw himself against the mountain as a body flew past him and hit the side of the mountain about 10 meters below him. He heard one more clang from the sword he assumed killed the man who just fell to his death. He waited a moment, to ensure he wouldn't be seen, before he looked down to a small ledge below.

The man was splayed out, his right hand and foot hanging over the ledge. He had a fairly large cut on the inside of his right forearm and was pierced straight through the right side of his chest. Unfortunately for him, the fall was likely the first thing to kill him. The wound to his lung was more likely to leave him choking on his own blood for a coupe minutes than to cause instant death. So the fall definitely had to do it. That's what he thought until he heard a strangled cough. He looked back over the ledge only to see blood gurgling from the poor guy's mouth.

_Shit, he's still alive._

The boy slung his bag back over his head and began to descend down to the dying man. However stupid that guy was for challenging The League of Assassins he didn't deserve to die like this, bleeding out on a slab of rock. He touched down on the lower ledge just 3-4 meters away from the man. His breathing was horrid, more hacking than breathing really. He'd just suffocate him, the man looked a bit too large for him to break his neck and he didn't want to cause any unnecessary pain. As he approached and the man's face came into view, he froze.

"Oliver?"

_**To be Continued…**_

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*Bad Blood by Bastille

Thanks for reading! R&amp;R. I actually have a story outline and am done with finals so I plan to finish this before the new year. Thanks, again. Also, did a quick edit but there may be tons of mistakes :)

Next Chapter should be up Friday.


	2. Until The End

**I AM SO SORRY! I meant to finish this like 2 weeks ago...but then I got really sick and then I flew home for the holidays...BUT I'M STILL REALLY SORRY!**

**Also, thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews!**

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**Chapter 2: Until The End***

"Oliver?"

He dropped to the man's side as he rifled through his bag for something to stop the bleeding. Oliver's eyes were half lidded, fluttering open every time he took a breath. The boy had left most his medical supplies at the lodge and only had a couple of gauze pads, which he ripped open with his teeth and pressed down onto Oliver's chest. Blood from Oliver's wound began to seep into the snow underneath him, turning it from white to pink to crimson.

Oliver's eyes drifted over to the boy as he took off his scarf to wrap around the wound. Their eyes met but there was no recognition in Oliver's eyes.

"What? You don't recognize me?" He nervously chuckled as he tied his scarf around Oliver's torso, covering the entry and exit wounds. "Don't worry, I'll chalk it up to you just falling off a mountain."

"Th..th..th…" Oliver coughed and expelled more blood from his lungs.

"Shh. Don't talk." Oliver grasped the boy's arm with a surprising amount of strength, his eyes ablaze.

"The...a." His eyes softened for a moment, "Thea." He began coughing again, until he passed out from the strain.

"Damn it." The boy went back to his bag, took our two climbing anchors, and began nailing them into the mountain wall with an ice pick. He had to get Oliver back to the lodge and that meant getting off this godforsaken mountain. If they stayed here he'd bleed out but if they tried to make it to the town Oliver would freeze for sure. He threaded and knotted the cordelette*, attached the carabineer to the end, and secured the rope that fell to the mountain's base.

Returning to Oliver, the boy passed a pair ropes underneath his torso. Then, he picked him up by his right arm and by the ropes bringing him up to a sitting position. He draped Oliver's arms over his shoulders and tied the ropes, one under their armpits and one at the waist. Satisfied that Oliver was secure he stood up using the wall to steady his weight.

_This is going to be fun, _he thought as he tugged the rope.

"Sorry, Oliver. This is going to hurt a bit." He jumped off the ledge, the rope held in the light grip of his right hand while the other one held Oliver's wrist to keep him steady. He rappelled slowly down the mountain, his ice pick at his side in case of emergency. Oliver's protesting groans accompanied the boy and reassured him of his comrade was still in this life.

When they reached the bottom, he untied the ropes and readjusted Oliver's weight. Before he began to move he heard the crunch of snow beneath boots. He ran with Oliver to the nearest group of trees for cover right before a group of 3 people came into view. He recognized the first immediately.

Nyssa, one of the daughters of Ra's Al Ghul, and the public face of the League. Well, as public as secret assassin organizations go. She was probably the one who did this to Oliver. It makes sence that she'd be here to settle a blood debt. But then he saw the next person.

Ra's Al Ghul. The Demon Head. The eternal leader of The League of Assassins, and, in his opinion, the most terrifying man on the planet.

"Seriously, Oliver. Ra's Al Ghul." He stared. The man looked unhurt except for some blood dripping from his left hand. "You continue to be the most reckless person I've ever met." He was so fixated on Ra's that he almost missed the last one.

Maseo Yamashiro. More commonly known as Sarab, The Phantom. A fitting name for the man he'd been chasing, with very little success, for almost 5 years. The boy released the breath he'd been holding.

"Dad."

Akio carefully placed a dying Oliver Queen on his bed. The trek back to his lodge had left him exhausted but he was far from done. Oliver was dying and there was little Akio could do. He needed a doctor and the closest one was a 35-kilometer trek across unforgiving mountainous terrain. Oliver's breath had turned to wheezing as Akio approached his bedside. Considering his condition, he'd really carried Oliver all the way here to let him die a bit more comfortably. He'd given him some morphine to help with the pain, but he didn't have much and his wounds were too severe.

Oliver Queen was going to die.

Akio shook his head. He wouldn't let it happen. There had to be something he could do, something someone could do. Suddenly, he moved to a small closet and sifted through his medical supplies, then through his other supplies, and then through a box where he found his answer: A small case with a T on it. He opened the case to see a phone with the same T symbol on it. He pulled out the phone and punched in a 6-digit code. The phone rang and then a voice on the other end answered.

"Didn't think I'd be hearing from you."

"I've got a situation."

"Of course you do. No one ever calls just to chat with…Wait…did you find him?"

"Um…yeah, I did…but that isn't the problem."

"You've been looking for your dad for 5 years, you find him, and that's not what you want to talk about?"

"Of course I want to talk about it!" Akio collected himself. This guy really brought out the worst in him. "But right now that doesn't matter. I need a favor. A big one."

"Well, I don't owe you anything so you better have a good reason."

"The Arrow. He's dying."

"The Arrow? That Robin Hood wannabe from Starling? Why is he with you?"

"He was settling a blood debt…with Ra's Al Ghul."

"…"

"Hey! I don't have time for you to be freaking out about this!" Akio looked to Oliver who was beginning to groan again.

"Ra's hasn't settle a blood debt in decades. Why was he fighting The Arrow? What does the League have against him?"

"I don't know! Ra's threw him off the mountain and I found him. I couldn't leave him there…he's an old friend."

"You know this guy!?"

"I wouldn't be asking you for this if I didn't!"

"And what exactly are you asking me for? From how he sounds, it doesn't seem like he has much time."

"He doesn't. He's going to die. But I need him to not stay dead."

"What are you talking about?"

"The pit." There was a long silence on the other end. "Ro…"

"NO! No, no, no, NO! ABSOLUTLEY NOT"

"Come on! I know you know where it is!"

"Are you out of your mind!? How do you even know about those!?"

"I've been trailing the League of Assassins for 5 years! I've done my research and anyone interested in Ra's is interested in his age and the age of his family. I know there is one nearby but I don't know exactly where it is. And time is of the essence."

"Those things are dangerous. This isn't something we should risk."

"This is my risk! And your gain!"

"And how is that?"

"You really have a low opinion of me. I know what you and your "boss" are up to. Starling, Central City, Metropolis, Gotham, Coast City, and Fairfield are just a few of the places where vigilantes have shown up. And you're not just keeping an eye on them, you've been contacting them."

"How did you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. The fact is that you've had some issues with the League and the Rogues, with H.I.V.E."

"HOW?" His comrade's voiced boomed over the phone.

"I've always known! You think I wasn't interested in why you'd help me? You're interested in taking out the League but you and your boss can't do it alone. You need help and you need The Arrow." He heard a sigh from his comrade and could picture his eyes narrowing and his furrowed brow.

"You never cease to surprise me, Akio."

"I'm just trying to keep up with you, Grayson."

"Heh. I'll send the coordinates to your communicator."

"Oh, and thanks Bruce. I know I was really asking you anyway." There was silence and then a deeper voice replied,

"Be careful, kid."

_To be continued…_

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**THANKS FOR READING! Props to HypnoCookie for calling Akio as a the main character. **

*Until the End by Breaking Benjamin

I've been waiting for Bruce and Dick to show up in Arrow for 3 seasons and I now that Gotham is on television we may never see it happen. But that's what fanfiction is for :) Thanks again!


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